All in a day's work

Today we did our bit for the Game Conservancy Trust and went along to a partridge count near Market Harborough. We've walked miles! There were 5 dogs in the group to begin with, joined by another 4 after the first two fields. Jet was the second youngest there but worked very well, he's becoming quite a stylish little hunter - quartering the ground and doing some lovely pointing. In total he sent up one french partridge, 4 hen pheasants and 3 cock pheasants which was very good going!


Jackie, the trainer, was really impressed with him (and also my handling apparently...not bad for a self-taught novice, eh!!) and couldn't believe how responsive he was to the whistle for a dog as young as he is. Needless to say I've come home looking like the Cheshire Cat! I'm very proud of him (feeling quite pleased with myself too, truth be known!) and we had a great day.

I was also amazed to see Jet continue working even though there were lots of other dogs bounding about. By the time we reached the end of the first field he'd really got his head down and concentrated on the job in hand. The only time he was distracted was when two female vizslas came dashing over to play, and later two GSP (German shorthaired pointer) bitches did the same thing - it seems all the girly dogs fancied Jet (and should be commended for their good taste!).

When we were standing around waiting for the others to join us, Jet played really nicely with a young puppy bitch (8 months old) who was very timmid and lacked confidence. You could have bowled me over when I realised how gentle Jet was being with her - usually most dogs get slam-dunked, but not Grace, she managed to bring out his gentler side which just goes to show what a good natured boy he is :)

All the other handlers there were very friendly so I'm looking forward to the first formal training class we attend, which will probably be next month. It'll be slightly different to the classes we went to before, in that this will be specific training for HPR (hunt point and retrieve) gundog breeds rather than the generalised class from a few months back that helped us get to grips with the basics. Watch this space for more news on our up-and-coming Field Trial Champion (well you've got to aim high, haven't you!).